Range depends entirely on how much you use the assist relative to pedaling. Conservative use, which we define as only using the assist to climb hills and accelerate away from stops, will get you 3 to 5 miles (5 to 8 km) per amp-hour of battery capacity. That's 65 to 110 miles (105 to 180 km) with our biggest battery. Typical range is more like 1.5 to 2.5 miles (2.5 to 4 km) per amp-hour with the Powerpack motor or 2 to 3 miles (3 to 5 km) per amp-hour with the BMC.

Range without pedaling depends entirely on how fast you go. At moderate speeds of around 15 mph (24 km/h) expect about 1.5 to 2 miles (2.5 to 4 km) per amp-hour. That would be 30 to 45 miles (50 to 70 km) with our biggest battery. Expect range to drop off rapidly as you go faster.

Plug the included charger into the battery pack and any standard 110V wall outlet. Each battery type takes a different charger so you can't interchange them, or use your own charger. You must use the proper charger for safety and to avoid damaging the battery.

Lithium Polymer batteries take 6 to 10 hours if fully discharged. Lithium iron phosphate can be charged in 20 minutes with the proper charger. Electric bikes are different from other types of electric vehicles. Since you can't be stranded by a dead battery, you can just ignore charge times and charge the battery whenever you get the chance. Then, when you want to ride, you just ride.

No. Recharging the batteries while pedaling is just turning food into electricity, a very inefficient process. We could use regenerative braking, but on a bike there is just not much energy to be recovered that way. Regen braking works on cars because they weigh thousands of pounds and a high proportion of the energy required to propel them goes into momentum. Bikes are light and have very little momentum. Most of the energy used to propel a bike goes to overcome wind drag. Regen braking only recovers momentum and so can only recover, at best, a few percent of a bike's propulsion energy. Also, regen braking systems cause drag while pedaling. The drag can be enough to completely cancel any gains from the regen. If you want more detail look here.

1 year parts warranty on all except standard bicycle parts. One year labor if unit is shipped back to us. Our Lithium Ion Polymer batteries carry a six month warranty from the manufacturer. If a lithium battery fails between 6 mos and 1 year we will replace it at the discretion of the manufacturer. Lithium iron phosphate batteries carry a 2 year or 1500 cycle warranty. Hawker Cyclon batteries are warranted for 1 year. Generic lead acid batteries are warranted to be functional on arrival, but are otherwise not warranted.

Lithium Ion Polymer batteries are good for about 500 full depth discharges. That's about a year and a half of heavy use. The good news is that because of their high capacity, you rarely go to full depth of discharge.

Lithium batteries will last MUCH longer if they're not discharged fully and put back on a charger after each use. Under these conditions Lithium Ion Polymer batteries can last thousands of cycles. Lithium iron phosphate batteries can last well over 1000 cycles even when frequently deeply discharged. Generic lead-acid batteries are good for 200 to 300 charge/dischage cycles. Hawker Cyclon are good for 300 to 500 cycles.

It depends on your weight,the load on your bike, and how hard you can pedal. The EcoSpeed EMD will always outclimb a hub motor system of equivalent power though. Expect at least 15% grade climbing ability, with 30% or more possible.

None of the batteries we use have any memory effect.

Our kits include mounting hardware to put a single battery on a standard pannier rack. Recumbents offer plenty of other possible mounting locations though. You could carry two batteries in panniers on either side of the bike. Practically though, our Lithium Ion Polymer batteries give you so much range that there's usually no need for multiple batteries. If you want to use more than one battery, we have wiring harnesses that let you do so.

The motor and controller are sealed and, though not designed for submersion, can withstand a pretty heavy blast of water, such as from going through a deep puddle. Lithium battery packs should never be submerged, though they are well protected from normal rainfall and splashes. Lead-acid packs can withstand rain and heavy splashes.

No. There is one extra chain in the system between the motor and the mid-sprocket. It should be lubricated whenever you lubricate the other chains using the same lubricant. Otherwise, standard bike maintenance and tools are all that's required.

No. The motor actually puts less stress on the chain and gears than pedaling does. The reason is the the motor applies a moderate force to the chain over the full 360 degrees of sprocket rotation. Pedaling applies very high forces over the narrow range of sprocket positions where the pedals are at the top of their arc.

Bicycle drivetrain components will seem to wear out more quickly once you install the EMD. That's not because of extra stress, however. It's because you will suddenly find yourself riding thousands of miles per year.

Yes, the motor and the pedals are completely independent. The motor is disengaged when it's not under power. Similarly, you can use the motor and the pedals won't rotate unless you choose to pedal. The bike will also coast normally with no part of the drivetrain in motion.

No. Both of our motors are highly efficient and normally run only slightly warm to the touch. Under heavy use they will warm up but cooling fins and thermal shutdown circuits keep them from getting so hot as to cause injury.

Electric bikes are considered to be the same as regular bikes under the laws of many states. They can be used in the same places as regular bikes unless the law explicitly states otherwise. Under federal law, any electric bike with a top speed of less than 20MPH falls under the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commission instead of the Department of Transportation, just like regular bikes.

Electric bikes do not need to be registered and do not need to be insured. If you set your bike up to go faster than 20MPH under power, it may be considered a moped under state regulations and may then need to be registered and/or insured. It's up to you to check on your state regulations. In practice though, no one's likely to notice an electric bike that's a few MPH faster than allowed. Also, some states do allow electric bikes that go faster than 20mph.

The long legal history of bicycles (they pre-date cars) confers multiple advantages on electric bikes. They are legal on almost any road, even rural interstates and major urban thoroughfares, as well as in bike lanes and on trails. Electric and gas scooters on the other hand, are usually much more restricted or have ambiguous legal status.

If you plan to use your bike off-road, then there are no restrictions.

We build our kits to order so it normally takes 4 to 6 weeks. It can take longer if one or more needed parts is out of stock. If the kit is going to take more than 4 weeks but less than 8 weeks to ship, we ask for a 50% deposit, with the remainder due 2 weeks before shipping. If it will be longer than that, we ask for a 20% deposit with the remainder due 2 weeks before we ship.